Long Island town salutes homegrown Olympian

With the Olympic Games underway in Beijing, some Long Island residents are ready to root for a hometown athlete who is representing the United States in China. Members of the Sayville Yacht Club in the

News 12 Staff

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Aug 9, 2008, 11:13 PM

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Updated 5,982 days ago

With the Olympic Games underway in Beijing, some Long Island residents are ready to root for a hometown athlete who is representing the United States in China.

Members of the Sayville Yacht Club in the Great South Bay are closely following the Games, which opened in Beijing Friday night.

?One of our own, Debbie Capozzi, is competing in Beijing this week, and we wish her the best of luck,? says Paul Ebel, event coordinator for the SYC.

The Sayville club is the place where Capozzi honed her racing skills.

Doug Shaw, vice commodore of the yacht club, remembers seeing the little Olympian-to-be walking down the street in Blue Point, carrying her life jacket.

Capozzi is now part of a three-woman crew competing in China. Her event includes about 14 races, and her supporters back home intend to follow every one of them.

Tierney Driscoll, 15, is also a member of the Sayville Yacht Club, and she says having someone you know in the Olympics is inspiring.

?Everyone here is so pumped up, everyone's zoned into the TV trying to catch a glimpse of her,? Driscoll says.